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ABOUT WRITING
Writing teaches the essentials of written communication with an emphasis on work-related problems. Students learn to organize material, use logic, recognize appropriate writing styles, and understand the writing process.
The Video Component
The Writing program also is based on the GED on TV series produced by KET, which received the Wilbur Schramm Award of Excellence for instructional television. The story of the video is played out with young adults. Sonya, a recent immigrant to the United States, struggles with the complexity of English spelling and structure as she perfects her new language.Videotapes of the series have been used at more than 700 learning centers, 38 federal correctional systems, nine state correctional facilities, and more than 200 armed service bases worldwide. At least one public television station in every state has used the broadcast series; 23 states have purchased statewide broadcast rights.
The Multimedia Components
- Ten multimedia books composed of three to six chapters each
- Hundreds of screens of instruction that blend information in text, graphics, and segments of instructional video
- Five hours of instructional video incorporated within the ten books
- Hundreds of test questions and interactive exercise questions with feedback
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Online tools: calculator English dictionary with Spanish translation thesaurus instructional text narration - Automatic record keeping of test and exercise scores as well as time in books
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN WRITING
Book 1 - Spelling Form plurals using s and es.Form plurals for words ending in y, f, and fe.
Add suffixes that begin with vowels or consonants to words.
Add common prefixes to words.
Book 2 - Mechanics Capitalize proper nouns.
Capitalize words in appropriate situations.
Use correct end punctuation.
Use commas to separate items in a series, to set off nonessential information, to separate main clauses in compound sentences, and in other situations.
Book 3 - Nouns and Verbs Recognize roles of nouns and verbs in sentences.
Use "helper"verbs correctly to form various tenses.
Recognize words commonly mistaken for and misused as verbs.
Use sit and set, lie and lay, and rise and raise correctly.
Book 4 - Agreement Select correct verbs for subjects with either/or, neither/not,or but/also.
Select verbs for subjects that are collective nouns.
Select verbs for sentences beginning with there or here.
Select verbs for each, everybody, no one, and everybody.
Select verbs for subjects with positive and negative elements.
Book 5 - Pronouns Use subject and object forms of pronouns correctly.
Use "divide and conquer" strategy for compound subjects and objects.
Use who, which, and that correctly.
Use possessive pronouns correctly.
Distinguish possessive pronouns from sound-alike contractions.
Use these,those, and them correctly.
Book 6 - Modifiers Recognize the function of modifiers.
Use good and well correctly.
Distinguish between real/very, fewer/less, and many/much.
Use barely, scarcely, and hardly correctly.
Use comparative and superlative forms of modifiers correctly.
Recognize when the possessive of a noun is used and form it correctly.
Book 7 - Sentences Recognize and correct run-on sentences and sentence fragments.
Place modifiers for clarity.
Edit for parallel construction.
Edit to combine ideas.
Edit to omit the unnecessary.
Book 8 - Organization Identify main ideas in paragraphs.
Select effective topic sentences.
Order sentences in paragraphs for clarity.
Omit irrelevant information and reduce wordiness.
Use transitional words and phrases effectively.
Book 9 - Style Reduce redundancy.
Select correct homonyms.
Edit for active voice.
Eliminate it, you, and they when there is no clear antecedent.
Distinguish between commonly confused words.
Book 10 - Review Review ways to modify run-ons and fragments, rules for subject-verb agreement, rules for correct usage, guidelines for using helper verbs, ways to find and omit irrelevant information, ways to find effective topic sentences, ways to connect ideas.